The Lightning are set to play four games in six days this week but lost both goalies, Sergachev and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare to COVID-19 on Sunday and both Anthony Cirelli and Andrej Sustr on Monday. With Sergachev out, Darren Raddysh is expected to make his NHL debut on Tuesday.
The Panthers placed four new players in COVID-19 protocol on Sunday, the same day that they activated eight players from the list. With Weegar likely out until the middle of next week, Gustav Forsling skated on a pairing with Aaron Ekblad in Monday's practice.
Tanev will miss the rest of the 2021-22 season after suffering an ACL injury vs. the Oilers on December 18th. This is a terrible break for Tanev, who was having a career year, scoring nine goals with six assists (15 points) in his first 30 games of the season.
Crouse will miss Friday's game in Anaheim, likely leading to the Coyotes reaching into the AHL for a call-up. If they don't, they'll go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Schmaltz has been out since October 25th but is set to return to the lineup on Friday. Schmaltz will play on the wing in his return, skating on a line with Barrett Hayton and Lawson Crouse.
Lee has been out since November 16th but is expected to return to the lineup vs. the Sharks. Lee should be back on the top line with Mathew Barzal and comes in with four goals in 12 games.
Stenlund has been a healthy scratch for the last two games and with Max Domi back healthy, Stenlund returns to Cleveland. The 25-year-old has one goal and two assists in seven AHL games this season.
Moving to the protocol list on Friday makes Lee questionable for the Islanders' back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday. Lee joins Josh Bailey and Ross Johnston, so look for the Islanders to make some call-ups if they're all unavailable for the weekend.
McCartney played in two games during his stint with the Coyotes but has been a healthy scratch for the last four games. He returns to Tucson, where he has five goals and two assists (seven points) in six games.
Sergachev has served his two-game suspension and will return to the Lightning lineup vs. the Panthers. Sergachev will replace Erik Cernak, who is week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Sergachev has scored two goals with four assists (six points) in 10 games this season.
